


In Sickness and In Health

by ClomWrites



Series: Bly Drabbles [11]
Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: Comfort, F/F, Gentle, Grumpy - Freeform, Rhinovirus, Sickness, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:22:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27885952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClomWrites/pseuds/ClomWrites
Summary: Jamie does not like being sick.
Relationships: Dani Clayton & Jamie
Series: Bly Drabbles [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1993213
Comments: 33
Kudos: 176





	In Sickness and In Health

**Author's Note:**

  * For [inyourbrain](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inyourbrain/gifts).



> A present for InYourBrain who keeps me fed delicious fic and sometimes lets me say dumb stuff at her. This was her specific prompt and I've probably ruined it.   
> I don't think this is my best work, but it's what she asked for! 
> 
> Rated M because I think it's not QUITE an E rating. 
> 
> Beta'd by myself so they'll be finding mistakes in six centuries by archaeology

Dani figured it out some time around the end of dinner. Date night – her absolute favourite part of the week – was Friday nights, when they had a whole weekend stretched out in front of them. Most nights they were so tired they fell onto the couch, sometimes just managed dinner and into bed, but Fridays they kept aside for themselves. As far as marriage traditions went, Dani thought it was a pretty good one.

Jamie, no longer so much a closet romantic as a billboard, shout your love to the world, take out an ad in the New York Times and start a viral campaign romantic, was probably even more insistent about it as a tradition than Dani.

Which is why, when she’d barely touched her steak, hadn’t taken a single sip of her beer, and had strung maybe three words together in the last five minutes, Dani was worried. And it didn’t exactly take long to figure out what was going on.

Either Jamie had suddenly acquired a drug habit and gone in to withdrawal in the space of twelve hours, or, she was getting sick.

Telltale signs: surreptitious sniffles, slightly red rimmed eyes, complete loss of appetite and the world’s most stubborn refusal to admit that said illness might, in fact, be taking place. Dani sipped her wine thoughtfully.

“Jamie.”

“Mmm.” Jamie moved the peas on her plate around restlessly, as though them rolling would somehow convince Dani they’d been eaten.

“You alright?” She kept her tone light – like she was creeping up on a tiger.

“Fine.” She looked up and blinked, and then cleared her throat delicately. “Just, listening to you.”

Even her lopsided grin, a patented move that made Dani melt and usually got Jamie her way, was pretty half-hearted.

“Jamie.”

“I’m good, I’m good.” Dani watched her take a sip of beer and wince.

Dani sighed, and polished off her own wine. “OK slugger, lets get you home.”

Jamie glared at her. “I’m fine. I’ve barely touched my drink.”

Dani reached across the table. “Jay you’re not fine, and you know it.”

“I’m sober!”

Dani rolled her eyes. “You’re sick.”

There was a moment silence and then, supremely petulant, “I am not.”

There wasn’t much point in rolling her eyes again, so instead Dani flagged down a waiter and asked for the cheque. Jamie was now pouting, being slightly less surreptitious about her sniffing and Dani could see the bright sheen in her eyes that signified the onset of a fever. That, despite the lack of half grin, did make Dani melt a little.

Jamie hated being sick. Hated it with the passion of a thousand suns. Dani understood – when you grew up in places where no one cared if you were alive or well, having to look after yourself while sick would have been truly awful. Consequently, if she went a little overboard in her care of sick Jamie (thankfully a relative rarity), she felt justified.

She held out Jamie’s coat, helping her shrug in to it and grinning behind Jamie’s back at the mumbled, “Jesus Poppins I’m not dying here. I can put on my own bloody coat.”

Sick Jamie was grumpy Jamie. Grumpy Jamie, it was true, could get on Dani’s last nerve, but at least the sick part of it took the sting out.

It didn’t take long to walk home to their little flat, but Jamie was definitely slower than usual. When they got there, she shrugged off her coat, and looked so miserable that Dani had no choice but to take her in her arms and hold her.

“Oh baby, come on, lets get you to bed.”

One hand felt Jamie’s forehead – definitely burning up, and the other, laced their fingers together. She had Jamie in pyjamas in very little time, with no resistance but some grumbling.

“This wasn’t how I was hoping you’d undress me tonight.”

Dani chuckled. “No offense baby, but you’re not exactly in the shape for anything more than cuddling tonight.”

Jamie glowered. Then softened. “Probably shouldn’t even do that?”

“You can have all the snuggles you want once I’ve tucked you in and gotten some Tylenol in you.” Dani finished the last button on Jamie’s pyjama top.

“No. I should sleep on the couch.”

Dani raised an eyebrow. “In what universe do you think I’m going to let you sleep on the couch. Why would you sleep on the couch?”

“Because I don’t want to make you sick.”

Oh. Oh there was a lot of adorable in Jamie’s facial expression right now, caring and sorry for herself and more than a hint of sad.

“Baby, I spent all day working in the shop with you, went to dinner with you, and I’m going to be in the same apartment as you all weekend. Believe me, if this cold is going to get me I’m going to get got. Let me cuddle you.”

Stubborn Jamie, it turned out, was relatively easily defeated by the offer of snuggles and a fever. Dani tucked her in and went to get supplies. By the time she got back, Jamie’s eyes were at half mast and she looked hazy.

“Come here, you need these or you won’t sleep properly.”

“Whad are dey?” There was a husk to Jamie’s voice now, slightly gravelled, and Dani’s response was instinctive and visceral.

She should not find that sexy. Not right now. But Jesus that voice. Offset by the blocked nose, but still sexy as hell.

“Tylenol, an decongestant and some apple juice.” Jamie made a face, but dutifully downed them anyway.

By the time Dani got into bed, she thought Jamie was asleep, but the rapidity with which she sidled over and wrapped herself around Dani like a limpet was both endearing, and a little amusing.

She pulled Jamie on to her shoulder and gently stroked her head, kissing her temple and wincing slightly at the heat there. Poor thing.

“I don’t like being sick.” The decongestant hadn’t kicked in but the cold sure had, because all Dani heard was ‘I dong lige beid sig’

“I know baby.”

“I had plads.”

“Plans huh?”

“Yeh. Weeked plads.”

Dani kissed her forehead again, finding her too adorable not to.

“Your throat up to telling me about them?”

Jamie’s arm tightened as she burrowed a bit closer, even though that technically seemed impossible.

“I was goig to seduce you, ad ded keeb you in bed all weeked.”

Dani smiled. “Honey, I think you’ll probably be in bed all weekend anyway. But I promise, the seduction will keep. I’m not going anywhere.”

Jamie grunted. “S’nod fair.” Moments later. “Cad I have a tissue?”

Dani fished the box off the bedside table where she stowed it. A minute later a dirty tissue flew out across the room on Jamie’s side of the bed. Dani chose to ignore it, despite the twitch in the back of her head.

When Jamie lay her hand on Dani’s sternum, she gently covered it with her own and was very pleased when not a few minutes later, she heard Jamie’s breathing slow and even out.

It was, she decided, probably going to be a long weekend, but at least she’d get snuggles.

The sun was already well filtered through the curtains when she awoke, feeling sore and still tired. Jamie’s night had been restless at best, a bit of a nightmare at worst. She’d sweated through two sets of clothes despite regular Tylenol, and had lashed out more than once in a fever dream. Dani had been up multiple times trying to keep up with medication and fluids. The mound of tissues had grown, abating with each dose of decongestant and then coming right back again a few hours later.

Jamie was still sleeping, in itself a highly unusual occurrence. Years of being up at dawn had left her unable to really sleep in, even if Dani had been keeping her up with things far more enjoyable than a cold. The clock read 830, and Jamie seemed, at the moment, peaceful.

Dani made herself a cup of coffee, grateful for the French Press that made it drinkable, at least to her own standards. She decided that eggs would probably be easier to eat than toast or cereal, if one had a sore throat, and had mostly finished scrambling when she heard an undignified croak from behind her.

Red rimmed eyes, flushed cheeks, dry lips, sad expression and Dani still thought Jamie was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

“Back to bed,” she waved the spatula at Jamie. “You, are going back to bed.”

“Had to pee,” Jamie rasped out. Her nose seemed to have unblocked for the moment, but that voice was now low, grated and still bloody sexy.

Dani gave her a gentle smile. “OK, well, I made you eggs and you need more juice, so, back to bed and I’ll bring it in.”

“I don’t want to,” it would have been annoying if it wasn’t so pathetic. “Please, I don’t want to be in bed. And I don’t want crumbs in there.”

Dani relented. “Ok. Fair call on the crumbs. Couch then.”

Their couch was functional, but not the most comfortable place to nap or lie down. It was second hand and the cushions sank and drew apart. It didn’t stop Jamie from cuddling down under the throw they kept on the couch and sniffing miserably.

She managed to get her fed, at least a small amount, and then tucked her back in.

“I’ll be better by this afternoon,” Jamie declared.

  
Dani laughed. “Yeah. Sure. Want some tea?”

“Jesus Dani I’m sick not dying, don’t need to pull out the euthanasia yet.”

Ignoring her, Dani made a cup of chamomile anyway. She still had to sneakily follow the instructions on the box but apparently it was less easy to massacre than black tea and Jamie drank it with a cranky face.

And so it continued for the rest of the day. Dani used the opportunity of a day at home to knock out some housework and generally potter around. Jamie used the day to intermittently nap and grumble in approximately equal measure. By the time dinner came around, she managed to get a bowl of soup into her, and then when Jamie complained for the eighteenth time that she was bored and didn’t want to be sitting around, Dani finally lost it.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, counted to give and tried not to pretend she was talking to a fourth grader.

“Jamie. Enough.”

Jamie looked up from the couch where she was currently swearing about the lack of anything to watch on the television.

“I’m just saying that your programming is shite, and you’ve got nothing on the beeb.”

“You’ve been saying everything is shite today Jamie. Everything.”

There was a moment of calm and quiet, before Jamie muttered under her breath. “Not my fault it’s all shite.”

Dani sat next to her, placed a hand on her knee. “Look. I know you hate being sick, but it’s not going to last forever. Just, sleep, drink, eat soup and maybe enjoy the fact you don’t have to be running around like a madwoman all day.”

She’d hoped her tone would be soothing but from the set of Jamie’s jaw and the tight line her mouth made, she suspected she’d taken a wrong turn. Especially when Jamie didn’t even deign to reply.

“Fine.” Dani stood up. “Be cranky, I get it. But stop being cranky at me. I’m over it.”

The bedroom was one of the two places that wasn’t within immediate eye-sight of Jamie in their tiny apartment. Dani busied herself remaking the bed, tidying up the stack of books on Jamie’s bedside table and retrieving the eight tissues she found stowed around. She was standing in front of the closet considering a refold and tidy operation when she heard Jamie shuffle into the room behind her.

“Sorry.”

It was almost a whisper, but it was also both sincere, and pathetic enough to melt any remaining frustration Dani held. She turned around.

Jamie, still slightly red eyed and red cheeked, and still with that husky voice, was adorable. Dani knew that theoretically you were supposed to find your wife attractive when they polished up, glad rags and all – and she did – but dammit if she didn’t often find Jamie at her most appealing in her damn pyjamas.

Especially with the hang-dog expression on her face. Dani gathered her in for a hug.

“S’ok baby. Sorry I snapped.”

Jamie sighed. “No. Well within your rights there. I’ve been an ass.”

“I know you hate being sick.”

“I really do.”

Dani ruffled her hair affectionately. “What say we have an early night and hope for a better Sunday? Maybe you’ll be up to going out for a coffee?”

Jamie nuzzled into her shoulder. “Why are you so good to me?”

“Think it goes with the love thing. Also the marriage thing. Also you own half my stuff.” She smiled when Jamie chuckled against her. Her grumps, seemingly confined to the recesses of her mind, Jamie managed to be more like her usual self for the rest of the evening, falling asleep on Dani’s shoulder half way through the movie they were watching from bed.

Dani had hoped that by Sunday Jamie would be back to her completely normal self. As much as she vaguely enjoyed indulging in her ability to look after her normally persistently self sufficient wife, she wasn’t sure she could handle another day of endless negativity.

Jamie wasn’t back to her normal self. Her voice still had that same deeply sexy rasp, and she was still quite tired. She was however, not nearly as grumpy, and Dani gave a secret thanks to whichever deity it was that had heard her pleas.

In fact, the first sign of cranky all day was mid afternoon, when Jamie tossed the book she was reading aside and sighed audibly.

“Mmm?” Said Dani, looking up from the patch she was putting on one of Jamie’s work coveralls.

“Come here.”

“Sharp objects yeah?” She waved the needle.

“That little thing?” Jamie pouted. “Come here please?”

Dani laughed and put the sewing down, climbing up to the couch and cuddling in to the offered arm. “What’s up?”

“Nothing. Just missed you.”

She wrapped an arm around Jamie’s waist and kissed her shoulder. “I’m right here.”

“Yeah, but normally I get to spend all weekend touching you and I haven’t been able to. Bloody torture if you ask me.”

It was true. A week of self-control in the shop usually resulted in a re-connection of sorts when out of the public eye. It wasn’t so much a deliberate decision as just a drifting closer, passing touches, warm hugs and stolen kisses. It was trying to fill the cup each day, and drinking it down.

It usually, life permitting, also led to longer touches and deeper kisses – time spent huddled under sheets, and on couches and, on more than one occasion, the floor. And the shower. Sometimes the walls.

Anyway, Dani understood. She trailed her fingers lightly across the thin t-shirt material covering Jamie’s abdomen and scratched a little with her nails.

There was a sharp intake of breath. “Dangerous Poppins.”

Dani scratched again, and then lifted the material to run her fingers lightly across the skin there, just firm enough not to be too ticklish.

“Dani…”

Oh, that husky voice. It really was doing things to Dani’s insides.

“Mmm.”

“Stop that.”

She grinned. “What if I don’t.”

Jamie gave her a look. “Baby. I’m… I’m not sure I’m up to a lot of exertion.”

Dani gave it careful consideration, and then made a decision. “Ok.” She stood up and held out her hand. “Trust me?”

Jamie raised a quizzical eyebrow but took her hand anyway, and followed as Dani dragged them to the bedroom.

“Minimal exertion right?”

“Dani…”

She spun Jamie around and sat her gently on the side of the bed before cupping her face in both hands and brushing the lightest kiss across those pink, soft lips. When they parted under the caress, she ran her tongue across Jamie’s top lip, and then dipped inside so briefly it was almost not there. She pulled back, checking for the telltale signs of a yes in Jamie’s eyes.

“You, are going to be very quiet and calm,” she whispered. “And I’m going to do all the work.”

At Jamie’s gasp, she knew she had her.

She played gently at the hem of the thin t-shirt on her wife, and then slowly drew it up over her arms and her mouth went a little bit dry at the sight of no bra.

“Shuffle back for me baby.”

  
Jamie obeyed, and Dani felt the knot in her lower abdomen tighten. The notion that having so much control would turn her on wasn’t exactly foreign. They’d played around the edges of control both ways, but it still left Dani a little bit frazzled at how much she liked the dynamic – whichever way it went.

She tucked her fingers into the waistband of Jamie’s sweatpants and slid them down her legs, taking underwear with it.

Here she was, Jamie, laid out in front of her like a gift from heaven.

Dani indulged herself.

She ran soft gentle kisses from Jamie’s temple, her ear, her neck, down to her collarbone. She trailed her fingertips up heated skin, across rippling muscles, and scratched her nails gently down the outside of Jamie’s thighs. She let her mouth spend long minutes kissing across open landscape, finding points of sensation and gently winding them up, soothing them. Her hands and tongue found perfect breasts, indulging in taste and touch until she could hear Jamie panting, little moans and whimpers. But still, she kept her hands placid by her side, offering herself completely in a way that made Dani’s head spin.

When she could tease no more, on the gust of a whimpered ‘please’, Dani moved down, parting slender legs and taking the moment just to stare. So many years of averting her eyes, of feeling like everything to do with intimacy had to take place in heavy darkness, whispered touches and breathed feelings. She was still, after all this time, learning she could feast. She could watch and touch and just immerse herself in the beauty of it all. In the beauty of Jamie.

And fuck, if she didn’t find Jamie, open and wet for her, glistening and ready, the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. She kept her touch gentle, watching swollen wet tissues part for her finger, relishing the moans from above. Jamie, now eyes half lidded, watching her, fingers in the bedspread. Jamie, hips jerking, trying not to move as ordered but unable to keep completely still because she wanted. She wanted because Dani made her want.

Dani rejoiced.

She slid one, then two fingers in, letting herself become engulfed in wet, slick heat. She moved slowly, and then curled her fingers, finding that spot. The spot that made Jamie groan a husky cry, a filthy little curse, a whispered prayer.

When Jamie could no longer keep her hips still, she dropped her head, and let her tongue join in – soft, long, languid strokes that built rather than conquered. She moaned herself, at the familiar, utterly erotic taste.

Discovering the power of a gift had been everything.

Knowing the slight movements and telltale signs of your beloved, as they writhe beneath you, a gift in itself.

Dani curled her fingers just a little bit harder, still slow and purposeful, but probing, finding, knowing.

Slow. Slow. So slow, but relentless, until a husky moan filled the air and Jamie bowed under her, shaking, squeezing, body coming apart under Dani’s hands.

Heaven.

She brought her down with gentle strokes, before reluctantly withdrawing and moving up the bed to take Jamie in her arms, cradling her. She was always like this, after they made love, open and pliant in Dani’s arms. Dani loved it.

“OK?” She whispered. Rhetorical question, but still.

“Mmm,” Jamie curled into her, as Dani pulled the covers over her like a burrito. “Gimme… gimme a minute.”

She stroked Jamie’s hair, surprised at how little reciprocation she needed, despite her own arousal. There was something truly wonderful in that.

“Rest.”

As Jamie drifted off in her arms, lulled by the faint lingering illness, a damn good orgasm and a sleepy warmth, Dani remembered a long ago conversation.

Perhaps, she mused, that this was truly what love was. Not possession, and certainly not ownership, but just this. The simple act of two people, always giving.

When she woke up the next morning with a head full of cotton, a nose that wouldn’t breathe and a sore throat, she did think, perhaps, that there were some things that people shouldn’t share. Dammit.


End file.
